The apparatus in accordance with the present invention is used mainly for the purpose of so-called karaoke, i.e., singing to a cassette-recorded orchestra tune.
Conventionally, a so-called karaoke apparatus is adapted to reproduce a melody recorded on a magnetic medium such as a magnetic tape and to allow a person to input voice through a microphone formed as a separate member, thereby allowing the person to sing a song to the melody through the speaker.
However, such a conventional apparatus is very large in size and weighs more than several kilograms and is so heavy that an adult can barely carry it. Since it is used as a floor mounting type, the conventional karaoke apparatus has been very inconvenient and difficult to carry.
In addition, similar apparatuses include a radio cassette tape recorder incorporating a radio and a cassette tape recorder, and a portable cassette tape recorder which mainly has a reproducing function and the size of which is made small enough to allow the apparatus to be put in a pocket of a jacket or the like [e.g., "Walkman" (a trademark of Sony Corporation)]. However, the radio cassette tape recorder is both large in size and heavy in order to perform karaoke with the apparatus held in one hand, and is poor in terms of operational features and portability. On the other hand, the compact cassette tape recorder does not include a speaker which is capable of amplifying sounds in a relatively wide range for so-called karaoke or the like, and cannot therefore be used for the the purpose of karaoke.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a portable recording and reproducing apparatus which is capable of transmitting (amplifying) sounds in a relatively large range constructed an apparatus which is not found in the above-described prior art.